The plan to spare STX Offshore & Shipbuilding the chop has hit a speedbump. The yard, once one of the five largest in the world, had looked as if creditors were determined to preserve it, unlike other Korean shipbuilders of late. However, a number of creditors have just dismissed the yard’s plea to get lower interest rates.
Creditors had agreed to pump KRW453bn ($384m) into the yard last December and lower debt interests from 3 to 5% to just 1%. Since then, however, the Export-Import Bank of Korea has changed its mind on the lower interest rates, leaving the yard in nervous limbo.
STX has committed to slashing its workforce and focusing on serial construction of just a couple of ship types in its bid to stay afloat. Other parts of the yard’s empire – such as its Chinese yard, STX Dalian, have been up for sale for more than a year.
